Last Sunday, December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities was celebrated.
Why is it celebrated and what is intended on this day? Since the General Assembly of the United Nations, its largest body, decided to create this day to carry out activities aimed at raising public awareness on this issue that seek to raise awareness and point out that there is a problem or important issue that requires attention and it has not been resolved yet.
In this case, the word “disability” is used to define a mental or physical deficiency, whether intellectual, physical, cognitive, mental or of different types due to chronic diseases.
They are considered the largest minority in the world because they tend to have fewer economic opportunities, higher poverty rates and less access to education. The lack of access to information means that they have fewer resources to defend themselves.
More than a billion people suffer some type of disability, which is equivalent to one in seven people. Among them, more than 100 million disabled people are children and 80% of the total live in developing countries and 50% do not have access to healthcare.
In the agreement on sustainable development adhered to in 2015 by the world’s leaders, the goal was to leave nobody behind to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
It was stated that people with disabilities can accelerate progress towards inclusive and sustainable development. It seeks to promote an equitable society for all, including social and urban development, to achieve a more inclusive society with greater equality.
With the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in mid-2008, the project was launched after many years of negotiations and struggles by people with disabilities and entities dedicated to helping and promoting their rights. In one of the articles recognized in this Convention, they are asked to lead an independent life and participate actively in the development of society.
Therefore, organizations that represent people with disabilities and people with disabilities themselves have to work collaboratively as a team with governments, public and private institutions so that the Sustainable Development Goals are attainable for everyone, eliminating obstacles to do more accessible their integration.
In Social&Care, we recognize and appreciate the great work of all associations and people who dedicate their daily life to achieve all these good purposes.
This information is also available in: Spanish